Who died in the Mortimer Jordan High School bus accident? Classes dismissed following teacher's death 

A teacher at Mortimer Jordan High School died on Wednesday, January 25 in a school bus accident on campus. The deceased teacher was identified as Mark Ridgeway by the Jefferson County School's system.

On Wednesday afternoon, the Sheriff’s Office of Jefferson County announced that there had been a tragic accident. Shortly after that, the School Resources division’s deputies were informed of a bus accident concerning a 58-year-old man who happened to be a staff member at Mortimer Jordan High School.

The Traffic Reconstruction Team of the Jefferson County Sheriff conducted an investigation to analyze the circumstances of the accident. As learned from the investigators, Mark was doing some standard checks on the bus before setting off on his morning route when the still unoccupied bus began rolling and hit him.

According to reports, Kimberly Fire Department and Kimberly Police Department responded to the scene to attempt life-saving measures, but to no avail. The country coroner’s office was called to the scene just before 7:30 a.m. on Blue Devil Drive. Gonsulin stated that the incident occurred in the parking lot of the school. No students were present at the scene.

Mortimer Jordan High School mourns the loss of a teacher

Craig Kanaday, the principal of the high school, said that Mark Ridgeway was a graduate of the high school itself. He was also a pastor in a church and retired only this past summer. While being a pastor, Mark also taught history in high school and drove a school bus.

Craig described Mark as a selfless person who was devoted to his faith and the school. The principal added:

"As a personal colleague of mine for more than 25 years, Mark leaves behind cherished memories but also a great void among all circles of his life. It’s in times like these that I am reminded that life is fragile and precious.”

School activities were canceled on Wednesday after the news was received. Classes were scheduled to resume on Thursday. The school also offered grief counseling to students, staff, and faculty.

A Mortimer Jordan High School graduate, Katelyn Thomas, said Mark was a caring soul who kept everyone in his thoughts. Thomas described:

“He was never judgemental. He always put God first. He was a minister and you could tell that was the just the root of his life and the root of his family and it just radiated through him and to know him was to love him.”

Thomas said that after waking up on Wednesday morning, they were too shocked to see all the Facebook posts and messages because they could not think of one person who deserved to be alive and deserves to be known and loved by people more than anyone, other than Mark Ridgeway.

According to reports, Mark’s wife, Connie Ridgeway, is also a part of the faculty at the school.

Jefferson County Schools shared a screenshot of a Facebook post from Mortimer Jordan High School where they offered their prayers, condolences, and sympathy to the Ridgeway family.

They expressed their grief caused by the loss of a dear friend and a colleague. The tweet added:

"Please hold his family, friends, and the Mortimer Jordan community close to your hearts during this difficult time."

The school has promised to provide every possible assistance to Mark Ridgeway's family in the coming days.